海角大神

'The Expatriates' explores three overlapping lives in Hong Kong

Three expats seek out love, happiness, and identity in a bustling 21st-century melting pot.

While Janice Y.K. Lee鈥檚聽The Expatriates might be one of your first reads of this new year, you will not be allowed to forget this book as 2016 draws to a close. Mark my words: 鈥淭he Expatriates鈥� will appear repeatedly on year-end award nominations and all the 鈥渂est of鈥� compilations.聽

When it comes to novels, the Hong Kong-born, Harvard-educated, New York-domiciled Korean-American Lee is two for magnificent two: Her 2009 debut, 鈥淭he Piano Teacher,鈥� garnered rave reviews and spent months on bestseller lists in 26 languages; her 鈥淓xpatriates,鈥� which hits shelves this month, fulfills long-awaited anticipation and should meet with similar 鈥� if not even greater 鈥� success.聽

Set decades after the World War II milieu of 鈥淭he Piano Teacher,鈥� in 鈥淭he Expatriates鈥� Lee returns again to Hong Kong, this time to a 21st-century setting populated with 鈥渘ew expatriates [who] arrive practically every hour.... Chinese, Irish, French, Korean, American, a veritable UN of fortune-seekers, willing sheep, life-changers, come to find their future selves.鈥�

Amid this throng, three arrivals 鈥� all women for whom 鈥渉ome鈥� remains stateside 鈥� will find their lives overlap and converge, in spite of different backgrounds, expectations, and outcomes. Somehow, over the course of two-plus years, they will eventually find themselves gathered in the same room, sharing the uncertainty of what lies ahead.聽

Mercy Cho, a Korean-American from Queens, New York, arrived at age 24 to find that her Ivy League pedigree failed to open any doors to opportunity. In spite of her attempt to make a 鈥渘ew start,鈥� she鈥檚 been unable to escape the 鈥渂ad luck鈥� that continues to plague her (irrationally, she knows) since she was 13. Her young life 鈥� so far 鈥� is defined by a horrific tragedy that will not allow her to move forward; survival for now means being sequestered in her 鈥渢wo-hundred-square-foot studio, but she does not have to live like a savage,鈥� serving herself elegant salads to mollify the hunger that will not abate. 鈥淸S]he wonders when she鈥檚 supposed to start her life again, when she is allowed.鈥澛�

For a few short months, Mercy helped to care for the children of Margaret Reade, who also arrived with her husband鈥檚 multinational posting that took the family from northern California to this 鈥渉ermetically sealed鈥� expat existence, 鈥渁s if they live in Hong Kong but are untouched by it.鈥澛�

Margaret 鈥渙n first glance seemed perfect.鈥� When Mercy initially meets her, Mercy is convinced that 鈥淢argaret was one of those women who ... didn鈥檛 recognize a mean person, since no one would ever be mean to her, or snotty, or distracted.... She had never known condescension in her life.鈥�

Margaret, her husband, their children, with Mercy accompanying, travel to Seoul, South Korea, for the winter holidays. There Margaret meets her extended relatives attached to her one-quarter Korean heritage 鈥� and loses her own immediate family as she knows it.聽

Returning to Hong Kong, Margaret must reenter some semblance of normalcy. In one of her rare social outings, she attends a dinner party at the home of fellow expat Hilary Starr and her lawyer husband. Childhood acquaintances whose mothers were friends in California, Margaret and Hilary have not seen each other 鈥渋n years, maybe decades, until they ran into each other at the airport,鈥� both on their way to one of those exotic vacations expected of a certain privileged class of expats. While Hilary might be the wife who followed the hired spouse, her independent wealth provides her unexpected agency. The conclusion of that evening鈥檚 soiree launches a point of no return in Hilary鈥檚 life.

Through unforeseen experiences and unintended meetings, these three women will come to share a relationship that can鈥檛 be labeled, that would never have been chosen, and yet can never be denied.聽

鈥� 鈥楬ong Kong is so small,鈥� 鈥� its expat residents echo again and again. Little goes unseen in this temporary fishbowl existence of foreigners abroad. Lee鈥檚 own intimate knowledge of Hong Kong鈥檚 expat community 鈥� Lee鈥檚 parents were Korean immigrants to the cosmopolitan island 鈥� is at turns illuminating, entertaining, cringe-inducing, piercing, all.

With meticulous details and nuanced observations, Lee creates an exquisite novel of everyday lives in extraordinary circumstances. Friendship, love, marriage, parenthood are all momentous, defining events in so many human lives; so, too, are uncertainty, betrayal, loss, and more. How Lee鈥檚 triumvirate reacts, copes, and ventures forth (or not) proves to be a stupendous feat of magnetic, transporting storytelling. 聽

Terry Hong writes , a book blog for the .